Dark Revival
by DARK Hunter1
Summary: Seven years after The Controller was destroyed, strange things start to happen in the city of Layered. Jake Hunter and Zak Hindler must figure out what is behind it all, and stop it. Chapter 7 up! Please R&R!
1.

****

Disclaimer: I claim no rights to any logo, insignia,

or corporate name in this story. They are

property of Sony, and AgeTech. I've only read two AC

stories on this site so far, so any copyright infringement is

purely by accident. Oh, and thanks to SilentLine for the idea of first person.

Black Out: "There's about seven Mts in this city sector. Destroy them!"

Okay, I'm off. I can see my reflection in the glassy cockpit displays, brown hair with bleached streaks, electric blue eyes, and a sculpted jaw. Ironically, right below my reflection is my name and rank; Jake Hunter- UNREGISTERED.

My life long friend, Zak Hindler, is in the other unregistered AC next to mine.

"Jake," I hear as his slim serpentine face, with brown eyes and jet black hair, appears in a vidcomm display to my right, "I've got a lock on one of 'em. Let's move." His face belies his shoulders, chest, and arms. He claims he can bench an AC rifle round.

"Don't worry Zak, I got your back."

I can't believe I'm being evaluated. Pop'll be proud of this! I can finally join him in the Raven Ranks.

"Zak, nine o'clock!"

BANG! One down, six to go.

SWWZZZ! Make that five.

"Hey Zak, we're tied!"

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

These things are dropping like flies between the two of us.

"Jake, DUCK!"

Zak gets off about three rounds as I strafe back and to the right. As I do so, I turn and bring my blade along for the ride.

Between the two of us, we stop the unit in two seconds in a fiery explosion. Being right next to it, I could feel the force through my AC's very structure.

'System switched to normal mode.'

Black Out: "Congratulations, you are now Ravens."

I did it. I'M a RAVEN! Wait, is that the corporate comm channel I hear.

Global Cortex: "Attention all Ravens, the Controller has been destroyed! I repeat, the Controller has been destroyed!"


	2. 1 Anomolies

****

Disclaimer: I claim no rights to any logo, insignia,

or corporate name in this story. They are

property of Sony, and AgeTech. I've only read two AC

stories on this site so far, so any copyright infringement is

purely by accident. Oh, and thanks to SilentLine for the idea of first person.

****

Dark Revival

By:

Dark Hunter

…Boot Initializing…

…Systems Check:

Reactor…Online

Database…Online

Mainframe…Online

Security…Online

…Accessing File Archive…

…Loading System Parameters…

…Booting AI…

…AI…Initialized

…Controller…Online

…

…I am The Controller

…Returning Layered under my control

…

****

Ch. 1. Anomolies

"System switched to Normal mode."

"So Jake, any clue who those guys were?"

"Nope, not a clue, Zak," I say, hearing my echo in the comm system, "but I'll check with Lyn when we get back."

"Who?" I hear Zak ask over the communication channel.

I answer, "Lyn, you know! Our Liason Officer!…"

"Oh, the Bitch!" is all Zak says in response.

Damn, you'd think he'd have forgiven her by now. She puts one whoopee cushion in the guys cockpit and he thinks of her as a harpy from then on.

"Zak, that whoopee cushion thing was five years ago! I can't believe you're still sore about it." I tell him.

"Fine Jake, besides, we're almost back to HQ."

As we come back into sector five-one-seven, I notice a warning light, you know them, those annoying little things that just start flashing and you don't know why or for what, was flashing like mad. I'll have to check with the mechanic when we get back.

"Yo! Jake! Headquarters is this way." I hear, bringing me back from my thoughts.

There it is, the Global Cortex Headquarters. HQ is this giant, fifteen story, octagonal building. The northern and northwestern wedges are designated specifically for the Garage. The northeastern wedge is the Shop. The eastern face is the recreational wedge, with everything and anything to keep you happy. Hell, on floor fifteen, they have a prostitution and gigolo service.

The southeastern wedge contains the Global Cortex Services department. That's the shit hole these corporates go to to request our services, then we have to go there ourselves to pick up our missions. In the southern wedge, we have the Dorms that Global Cortex provides. I stay there mainly for the convenience of it.

Global Cortex's southwestern wedge WAS the Office wedge, until last week when a rookie blew off half the southwestern face when returning from his evaluation. Needless to say, they revoked his rank as a Raven then and there, confiscated his AC, and permanently assigned him to a construction MT. Poor bastard, never even got a mission in.

The western wedge now contains temporary offices, though its normally just empty space. But hey, they put it there for just such an occasion.

"Hey Zak," I yell over the comm channel.

"Yeah bud?" I hear.

So I continue, "what's your game tonight?"

After a minute or so of dead air, "Darts, if I want even a snowballs chance in hell of winning."

I turn and start to enter Bay Two of the Garage. I almost always get shutdown before him.

"Shutdown complete. Goodbye Jake."

I love the sound of the computer. I always have preferred the heads with the female voice. Well, better get the grease monkeys on this tin can.

"Hey Marcos," I call down, "I need you to check one of the warning lights in here for me."

Marcos, "No prob, dude. Should I send the report to your room?"

I thought, then, "Naw, send it to the rec room."

As I'm getting out, I'm able to see the full extent of the damage. I hope I have enough creds. The tank of my flamethrower is completely gone, that'll cost me. The core has a hole in it the size of my head! Looks like it didn't hit the radiator though, what a relief. It also explains the sluggishness of the left arm. Well, better get to the rec room.

As I make my way to the back of the garage, I hear Lyn's succulent voice over the P.A.

"Would Jake hunter and Zak Hindler please report to the debriefing room immediately."

Shit, this can't wait until we've eaten? Now I'm starting to understand why Zak thinks she's a bitch.

Damn, He's in here already!

"Yeah?" I ask on the way through the silvery door.

"Good Jake, you're hear." Lyn started, "I've got the analysis back on the MT data. I've also got some disturbing news, boys."

Zak and me exchange one really dumbfounded look, then he asks, "So what is it?"

"First, those MTs you faced weren't standard MTs. Fr…"

"No Shit!"

"Yes, well. Frankly, we can't tell who made them, or what enhancements they have. What we can tell you is, that there were no biosigns being picked up inside. Hell, we couldn't even detect cockpits."

Frankly, this shocked the hell out of the both of us. I'm the first to speak.

"What?! No pilots, but how the hell can that be?!"

Lyn, "I've no clue. No one has ever been able to create a successful remote MT. Well, other than security drones, that is. But those weren't security drones, they were too mobile."

"Yeah, we know that already, don't we Jake."

"Fuck yeah! One of those bastards took out my flamethrower."

"Calm down boys. I know all about that. Look, we don't know who they were, but we here at HQ do know that those MTs took out your intended targets."

Amazed and surprised, I look at Lyn and ask,"How the FUCK do you know that!"

"Because I had the mechanics run an energy residue scan on your units the moment you two got back. It's the same energy signature that we found on a heap of rubble 'bout four clicks from your Area of Operation. The rubble was the remains of the Mirage forces, your intended targets."

"WHAT!" Zak and I scream, simultaneously jumping to our feet.

"The strange thing is, similar occurrences happened about seven years ago. That was when Layered was still under the rule of The Controller. But The Controller was destroyed by your father, Jake, the Dark Hunter. Unfortunately, no one has heard from him since."

"Yeah, Lyn, I know. I spent two months wishing he'd come home. Now, back to those MTs."

"Right. Frankly, I haven't seen this type of thing since the Controllers reign. This is starting to really concern me, and I'm not sure why. After all, The Controller was destroyed and can't come back online. Well, dismissed."

"See ya, Lyn. Zak, ready to eat." I ask, feeling my stomach grumble.

"Race ya there!"

Damn, he's already ahead of me. Through the heavy door and into the blue and orange hall, shit, he's still ahead. Sharp right ahead, hey, I'm catchin' up. I'm catchin' up and, wait, what's th…

"Hey buddy, you okay?"

"Aaoooohh. What hit me?

"That would be my door. Are you going to be okay?"

Damn, my head hurts. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Well, I finally made it down here, and of course, Zak beat me. Why does the have to have a green neon light. I guess I owe Zak five hundred creds.

"Jake, Marcos sent your report down here."

"Thanks Ted. Can I get a beer, and an ice-pack. Oh, and a couple of aspirin."

Hmm, where's Zak at? Never mind, there he is at the dart board.

"Hey Zak, I owe you five hundred. I'm gonna read my repair report, then I'll kick your ass."

Turning on the monitor, I instinctively took the more comfortable of the two chairs at the table.

'Enter Global Cortex Password'

' * * * * * * * '

'Access Granted'

'Accessing Mail Account_'

'Income Report:'

'Reward: 45000c'

'Additional Reward: 0c'

'Special Addition: 0c'

'Repair: 27000c'

'Ammo: 3527c'

'Special Deductions: 0c'

'Balance: 14473c'

'Comments:'

'Hey dude, I checked that warning light. Dude, that thing leads to nothing. I mean, it leads nowhere. The thing has a kill circuit, but no circuit other than the one to the processor. This fucker doesn't link to a single system on your unit. Everything else checks out though, dude. Talk to you later.'

"What! No systems link? But, then why was it flashing?"


	3. 2 Chosts of the Past

****

Disclaimer: I claim no rights to any logo, insignia,

or corporate name in this story. They are

property of Sony, and AgeTech. I've only read two AC

stories on this site so far, so any copyright infringement is

purely by accident. Oh, and thanks to SilentLine for the idea of first person.

Beeeep!

Beeeep!

Beeeep!

Beeeep!

Click!

Shut the fuck up. Damn, am I ever hammered!

"Incoming message, channel two."

Where's the damn respond button. There.

"Yeah. Who the hell is it?" I ask, quite groggily.

"Wakey, Wakey, little Jakey! Come on Jake, it's eleven hundred. Meet me in the mission room

"Fuck Off, Zak!…I'll be there in thirty minutes."

I take that back, I'm not hammered, I'm nuked. Sitting up, I feel my head throb like a jackhammer. I throw off the covers and place my feet on the cool metal floor.

"Mmmm. Where ya goin', Dark Vent?"

That delicious voice, don't tell me. No… it can't be! FUCK! It is!

"Sorry Venom, I've got to get to the mission room in thirty."

"Come on, stay with me." She says in a seductive voice, lifting the covers to show me everything.

And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING! Her soft, creamy golden skin. Her breasts, so gorgeous and supple. Even her long, silky, muscular legs, that, when in her jumpsuit, look like the pillars of Heaven itself. Damn I must've been really nuked to sleep with her!

I swore, after we dated, that I would never see her again. This is going to be a Really bad day!

"I can't, I've got to get to the mission room. But feel free to stay awhile."

I gotta take a cold shower, right now!

(twenty minutes later)

Clean pilot jumps, cup of coffee, this day's already starting to turn for the better. Aahhh! There's the mission room.

"There you are Ja…" Thwak!

That felt good. He'll be feeling that punch for the rest of the day. Hell, I'll be feeling it in my hand for the rest of the day.

"Agghh!" He says, spitting some blood, and a chip from a tooth, "What the hell did ya do that for!"

"Next time, don't let me get so nuked that I'll sleep with Venom Strike!"

"You were sitting at the god Damn BAR ALONE when I left you at twenty two hundred last night. Whatever the Hell you did, I wasn't there to stop it!"

"Shut the FUCK UP! Both of you!"

"Sorry Lyn," We say in unison.

Lyn always was the one who could put up with our bullshit.

"Now, Both of you, Sit!… Kisaragi has requested the service of two Ravens. In fact, they asked for you two in particular. Computer, start breifing."

As the room went dark, a map of Layer 3 comes up on the display.

'Requestor: Kisaragi'

'Advance: 0c'

'Upon completion: 14500c'

Then the familiar snake oil voice of the Kisaragi VP starts his ramble.

"We have recently built a new Development Lab in Sector 716. Since it's completion, activity in the area has risen drastically, causing great concern to us. Upon investigation, we learned that a squad of Mirage MTs were snooping aroound, and reporting to a leader known only as Ragnorak. We suspect that this may be an AC. Your mission is to search out and destroy the squad, and search out Ragnorak. You will Each be paid he full reward mentioned. Failure is NOT an option."

'Area: Layer 3, Sector 716'

'Enemy Forces: MTs (unknown number), ACx1'

'Objective: Destroy All Enemy Forces'

"Okay Lyn, we accept." I say while reaching for the comm button.

"Good. See ya, guys."

Pressing the button, I call "Rec Room."

"Ted here…"

"Ted, have a hot sandwich ready in five minutes."

"Ahh, mobile breakfast special, gotcha."

(fifteen minutes later)

Climbing into my cockpit, sandwich in hand, I hit the power and buckle in.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Oblivion online. Checking systems… All systems online. Checking weapons… Laser blade unit ML-F550/A detected, no other new weapons added. AC Oblivion, online. Hello Jake."

Hitting comm two, "Nightwatch, you there? Come on Zak, Respond. Zak, resp"

"I'm here. My comm momentarily fritzed. Let's move out!"

After about twenty minutes of walking, boosting, and riding elevators, we arrive at Sector 716. It's a pretty desolate area, mostly industrial complexes from the time of The Controller. You can still see Crest logos on most of the old buildings. This particular Crest area is now under Kisaragi Control. It's a shame, really, 'cause Crest made some of the best parts before it went under. Unfortunately, when The Controller was destroyed, Crest soon followed.

"There's the lab. Let's find the squad. "I say.

As time goes by, I become really bored. The action of keeping Oblivion moving is the only thing keeping me awake. Then, my radar blips at me. What is it? It was just there and SHIT!

"Nightwatch, Ten O'clock!" I yell as bullets start to rain on me from the shadows. Then I let loose my own rounds. Damn! I can't get a lock!

"Dark Vent! They've got stealth!"

"NO SHIT! I can't get a lock"

Got One! It was just a lucky shot though, and I know it won't happen again. So I boost to the nearest one and swinging my core's arm in the largest possible arc, slice a second MT in two.

"Nightwatch! Let's Slice-n-Dice!"

"Roger!" He yells, destroying an MT that had snuck up behind me. 

The battle lasts for several minutes, as Zak and I destroy one MT after another. As I carve up the last MT, I hear the pilots voice on the comm call "Ragnora…". Then there was only the stump of the legs left.

"I think that's all of 'em, Nightwatch."

"I think so too."

"Dark Vent to Operator. We've gotten 'em all."

Luckily, Lyn is our Operator as well as our Liaison officer.

"Good job boys. Switch to normal mode and… wait… I'm picking up an AC sign… two, no three… FIVE AC SIGNATURES CLOSING IN FAST! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Shit! "Let's MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" I scream. There was supposed to be only one AC, if that!

"… Surround Them!"

"Beta to Epsilon. Commence attack!"

I'm getting showered from three directions now with various rounds. I fire my orbit cannon and rifle at two different ACs at once. Yes, I got one dropping!

"Dark Vent, My AP's low! We've gotta move!"

"I'm trying!"

"You Fools! We are RAGNORAK! You will not escape u…"

I have to shield my eyes from the explosion, because that guy is directly in from of me, though there's a hole where his head used to be.

"Beta's Down! Find the Damn shoot…AAAaggh!"

Another one's gone, straight through the cockpit. So, I just start blasting away at the nearest enemy AC, dropping my Orbit cannon in the progress, to lighten the load.

"Eat Blade!" I yell at the AC.

"You First!" He says, bringing his blade up underhanded, just missing his own two front legs.

A buzzer sound, and a warning starts to flash:

'Left Arm Extreme Damage!'

Suddenly, Orbits appear over my head and, amazingly enough, start blasting my opponent. In the confusion they cause, I see my opportunity to strike, and I TAKE IT! I circle strafe left, raise my rifle, and blow his core's head clear off. The ACs quadraped legs tremble, then give way and the guys core sinks to the ground.

At that precise moment, I hear an explosion from behind me. I turn around and see Zaks AC, barely standing, with a smoking heap between him and our savior.

I finally get a chance to see him, and I notice that a lot of his parts are outdated. The strange thing is, his core is configured very similarly to mine. The rifle and legs are clearly outdated, and it's obvious that repairs on them weren't professional.

The flamethrower, which I would normally have on mine as well, is an older, and recently discontinued, model of mine. And from the looks of it, bought just before they were discontinued. On the back left hard point, an orbit cannon from the period when they were commonly used and popular, which is about seven years ago. A head, from before the upgrade recalls, of a similar make to mine, is mounted on the unit. The only part clearly shared, is the core, which is a relatively heavy middleweight with a duel exceed orbit rack.

"You, Unidentified AC. Who are you?" I ask the guy, hoping for a legit response.

"…Just a memory…" is all he said.

"Operator, identify the unidentified AC."

"What AC are you babbling about Jake?" Lyn says.

"What do you mean what AC? The AC right in fro… Where'd it go?"

"Jake, what are you talking about. You and Zak have the only active AC signals within fifty clicks of your current location."

"Jake's not jokin', Lyn. There really was an AC right in front of him. It was an older one, too."

"Look, You two are delusional. Switch to normal mode and return to base. Then, I want you both to check into the infirmary."

"Oblivion switched to normal mode."

"Backlash switched to normal mode. Returning to base."


	4. 3 Rest and Run

****

Disclaimer: I claim no rights to any logo, insignia,

or corporate name in this story. They are

property of Sony, and AgeTech. I've only read two AC

stories on this site so far, so any copyright infringement is

purely by accident. Oh, and thanks to SilentLine for the idea of first person.

"Lyn, we're almost back to base. Do you want to give us the debrief asap or no?"

"You two can have lunch. I still need more time to analyze this data. There appear to be several anomalous sensor readings."

"Lyn, send put some construction MTs, 'cause BackLash is trippin' over her own two feet here."

"Construction MTs on the way, Zak. Lyn out."

Damn. Construction MTs won't have much to pick up. The armor plating on BackLash is nearly gone. And of course, Zak is wavin' at me from the exposed cockpit. His unit is BARELY standin', because the left leg is about half gone, and the right has no armor on it. At least his radiator won't overheat this way. Oop, there goes the rest of his right arm, and… Shit! There was still a round in there.

"Sorry man." I hear him say.

I return with "Don't appologize. But if it hit Anything, You're payin' for it."

There's the damn MTs. They're slower than slugs, or tank tread ACs even.

"Zak, You want your usual?"

"No, get a double hard with it."

"Got it. Meet ya in the Rec Room." I say, as I turn and head towards the garage.

Ah, there's the familiar heavy titanium doors of Bay Two. They're open too! Good. As I turn into the doors, I see another AC walking towards me. It's Cobra.

"Hey babe. Damn, you look like you've been through hell and back."

"Yeah, but Nightwatch fought the Devil himself."

"Daammn! Well, see ya baby."

Clank!

Damn! That was the remnant of my blade! Repairs on Oblivion are going to cost me a fucking fortune! There's my dock.

I walk up to it, turn a hundred eighty degrees, and start to back into the docking locks.

Clink! Clank!

I'm locked and searching for the sequence routine. HEY, there's thatDamn warning light again! Shutdown initiated.

"Oblivion systems offline. Goodbye Jake."

I open the hatch and… Damn, that was the hatch. I climb out onto the pilot lift and descend.

"Yo, Marcos!" I yell during my four-and-a-half story descent.

"Yeah dude?" He responds, while wiping grease off his hands.

"Send the report to the Rec Room, and that damn warning light's back on. Just pull it out, would ya."

"Okay dude! It'll be there as soon as possible."

Ground floor. AS I get off the lift, I see a new AC in the dock next to mine. And I mean REALLY new. Most of the most of the parts I haven't seen in the Shop yet. Must be a corporation demonstration unit. I'd better get to the Rec Room. After all, I promised Zak to have something ready.

I head towards the back of the Garage, 'cause it's the way to the shortcut. There's the Pit, where unrepairable parts are tossed, sorted, and recycled into armor plating, and other nonspecific parts. This hallway, which is the only hallway that's not blue and orange, is the only way straight through the building's core. As I approach the stairs to the next floor, I hear footsteps coming down them. Hey, it's Ignition. He normally pilots red or orange ACs with missiles and flamethrowers.

Two flights of stairs later, I turn to the right and enter the Rec room.

"Hey Ted, Zak wants the usual woth a double hard." I tell him as I enter.

"Gotcha Jake. How'd the mission go?"

I just give him this look of utter disbelief. He knows hat a normal order with hard liquor means it went bad. And a double hard liquor is even worse. He must just be trying to start conversation.

"'Bout as bad as you look."

"ouch! A regular with hard for you then?"

"Yeah. And let me know when my mail arrives."

I decide to sit at the table closest to the darts.

( ten minutes later)

"Here you are, Jake. One double bacon cheeseburger and fires, with whiskey. And one hot pastrami on rye with fries, and double whiskey for Zak. Well, Speak of the devil. Here comes Zak now."

"Thanks Jake," Zak says, "looks good Ted. Thanks."

Of course, the first thing Zk does after a mission like this is down the whiskey, and sit for five before he touches the food.

Twenty minutes, three games of darts, and another double whiskey later, I hear Ted call me.

"Jake, your mail's in, and you've got three of 'em."

"Thanks." Three messages, damn that's a lot.

I switch on the table monitor, and type in my password.

'3 New Messages'

'Hold Off: From Lyn'

'Repair Report: From Marcos'

'Urgent: From Kisaragi VP'

Let's go in order.

'Message – Hold Off'

'Jake, I know Zak's there. Both of you will get yet more time before the debrief. On the mission, I know that I didn't believe you, but I've looked over the sensor logs, and I'm reconsidering my opinion. We've noticed some anomalous readings that could indicate some form of stealth. It needs further analysis, so you guys get another couple of hours.

Lyn'

"Hey Zak, we get another couple of hours, and Lyn says she may be wrong!"

'Repair Report'

'Reward: 14500c'

'Extra Reward: 0c'

'Special Addition: 0c'

'Repair: 12000c'

Twelve Thousand! That's most of my Damn Reward!

'Special Deductions: 0c'

'Ammunition: 1750c'

'Balance: 1750c'

'Comments:'

'Dude, I'm not going to be able to get to the warning light anytime soon. Your AC is just to beaten up to work on the little pidly shit right now.'

I'm screwed! Okay, What's this "Urgent" message from Kisaragi?

'Urgent! Raven, We need your help. Our forces found a survivor in one of the MT wrecks. After interrogation we found out that they planted bombs throughout our new Development Lab. We need you to find and disarm them. We've heard of the damage to your unit, and we've provided you with a replacement for this mission. It's located in dock 137. Please, hurry. We don't have much time. You will be rewarded greatly for this.'

Dock 137? Wait, that's the AC unit I saw earlier!

"Zak, I've gotta run! I'll see ya a debrief!" I say as I get up.

There it is, my temporary AC. It's dark blue, with white and red patches. I head to the lift while still looking at the thing in awe.

I get in and flip the power on, seeing a whole new fucking cockpit design, though still quite familiar.

'… Initial Startup Procedure'

'Systems Check:'

'Power House… Online'

'Computer… Online'

'Manipulation… Online'

'AC WhipLash Online'

'New Pilot Detected… Enter Pilot Name'

"Pilot, Dark Vent."

'AC WhipLash Now Registered To Pilot Dark Vent'

'Checking Weapons:'

'Detected:'

'kb – x/Phantom'

'ki – x5/001'

'kr – 92/Rail'

'kle – Fx'

'ke – 7600m'

'Switch To Combat Mode?'

"Yes." And we're off.

On the way to Sector 716, I find out that my back weapon is actually a multi-purpose unit. It's a giant booster, a flight enabling wing, and a huge stealth generator, all in one. The gun's a rail-gun, which shoots a pellet the size of my fist, followed by a lightning tracer. And the blade is a self-contained mobile combat unit. I can't believe there're parts like this, I mean, these things aren't even on the market yet.

I reach Sector 716 in a quarter of the time due to the wings. What? An incoming message?

Kisaragi VP: "Raven, hurry! The bombs will go off any minute now! You have permission to annihilate any opposition, including our security system. Again, Hurry!"

I'm receiving another message. This one's from Lyn!

"Dark Vent, What Are You Doing! This mission wasn't approved!"

Boosting through the doors, "Gotta do it, Lyn. I'll be finished soon!" I say.

"Well… Sensors indicate nine bombs, you'd better hurry!"

Better boost all the way. I fly through the doors and, "Left room!" Okay. There's the bomb… Aaannd, the security system. Swwzzz! One gone, too many left!

'Enemy vs. Time: Calculations… Unacceptable'

'Switch Blade To Mobile Mode'

Switched to mob…

'Choose Targets'

"All!"

'Swing Blade For Attack'

Okay, swinging… Holy Shit! It's flying at all the security drnes and gun emplacements! While the blade is attacking the drones, I boost to the bomb location and grab it. It's small, so I open the cover on my shoulder, and shove it into the inside part slot.

"How do I recall the blade?"

"Recalling blade. Raise left arm."

So I raise my left arm, and the blade returns to it.

"Dark Vent, two rooms over. There's two in there."

I enable the flight mode of the Phantom wings and jet out into the hallway, and down to the next infested room. Once in, I select "All Targets" and launch my blade. This'll buy me some time. I fly into the center of the room looking all around me. There's on, near the floor. I fly towards it at an angle, so as to land near it. I land gracefully, with a soft thud, and grab the bomb off the wall.

Turning around, I instantly notice the placement of the second bomb, just as my blade flies dangerously close to it. I switch to flight mode, taking to the air like a bird. I grab the bomb, place it in my 'inside' slot and recall the blade. Time to get the rest.

It takes me all of about four minutes to get all nine bombs, but I have them.

Kisaragi VP: "Thank You, Raven. Yo… e co… or th…" I can't hear him through the stat…

"Boy! You haven't gotten them all. There's still one left. It's planted on the reactor, cloaking it from scans."

"Who Is This! TELL ME!"

"Move, Now! Ask Questions Later! Boy… GO!"

Okay, so I take off towards the lab's reactor sore. If there really is a bomb there, then I've gotta stop it. An explosion like that will take out half of Layered! I'm back in, racing down the main hall.

'Over-Boost Suggested'

Might as well. I switch the over-boost on and can't believe the power behind it. This is twice the average over-boost speed! Reactor Room, Dead ahead, so I switch off OB and bost the rest of the way. These have to be the biggest doors in the lab… and they're locked! So I pull out the holo keyboard and start to hack in. Yes! I'm in, now to find the bomb. It takes me two minutes, but I find it in the lowest and hardest to find of spots. Right under the primary heat exchanger. I still have room to stick it in my left shoulder.

"Good job, Boy." The strange voice says, and I know it belongs to the unidentified pilot.

"Thanks, I guess. But Who Are You!"

"… I'm someone how's very proud of you…" He says between the static.

"…ake, Jake, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, Lyn, I can hear you."

What Happened? The Kisaragi VP lost transmission contact, then you wound up n the reactor room."

"Lyn. There was another bomb. It was cloaked by the reactor's radiation, and it was right under the primary heat exchanger. It would've taken out half of Layered."

"WHAT!" Lyn screamed.

"I'm returning to base. I'll fill out a full report when I get back. And I was helped by that unidentified AC pilot again."

I type a few commands, then hear the computer say in a male voice:

"System switched to normal mode. Returning to base."


	5. 4 The Gift of Kings

**Disclaimer: I claim no rights to any logo, insignia,**

 or corporate name in this story. They are

property of Sony, and AgeTech. I've only read two AC

stories on this site so far, so any copyright infringement is

purely by accident. Oh, and thanks to SilentLine for the idea of first person.

"So, are we done Lyn?" I ask, rubbing my eyes from exhaustion.

"I'd like you to describe that AC. You said it was mostly older parts?" Lyn asks, looking as exhausted as Zak and me.

"Well, the configuration resembles my norm. There was an advanced head, I'm guessing it was Crest. The core is the same as mine, though much older. I don't know a thing about the legs, but I could definitely recognize them…"

"Jake, wait! Maybe you should build it on the computer. I'll access the parts archive. Besides, the description already sounds familiar." Lyn says, punching a few keys.

After a moment, an AC systems map shows up onscreen. So I grab the keyboard, and start to place parts.

            __                  __

   __/--/      )              (     \--\__

------|     /                 \    |------ 

          / /                        \ \

0 0

              __                  _                 __

             / _|  __          /   \          __  |_ \

            / /-- /   |\____\_/____/|   \ --\ \

           |_|   \ |    |  /               \   |   | /   |_|

                   |   | |  \      (°)     /   | |  |

                   |   |  \  \/   /  |  |

                   |_ |   \_(_____ ) _/  |_|

         _       (|   |)    _|         |_    (|  |)      __

        /\ \       |   |    (|  \        /  |)   |  |       ||

        | | |     ||     |   |       |   |    ||      ()

        | | |/ |   ( "       |   |\/|   |     " )        V

        |v|/|/              |A |      | A|

        \| | |              A||A     A||A

         | | |             /       \   /       \

         | |/             |   | |   | |   | |   |

         | |               \  | |  /   \  | |  /

         | |                | | | |     | | | |

         | |                | V |      | V |

         V                 |    |      |    |

                            | A |      | A |

                           A/  \A   A/  \A

            With the system map replaced by the correct parts, I hit "Search" and watch the computer work. The parts come together to form an AC, then the image shrinks and moves to the upper left corner while a new window opens up. The new window then starts to shuffle all the parts, matching legs, core, arms, and head. It then matches visible weapons and extensions.

'Three Matches Found!'

'Lockdown'

A bluish AC, and it has a small chaingun on the right shoulder. That's not it.

'Riptide'

Another AC. This one's blue and green, with a howitzer, instead of a flamethrower.

'*Classified*'

What? Classified! That's gotta be the one. Damn! The image is grayed out.

"I found it…" I say. I can see a look of curiosity on Zak and Lyns face. "It's the classified pilot."

With a skeptical tone, "How can you tell, Jake?" is all that Lyn can say.

"Process of Elimination. There's no other Raven with this configuration."

"Well, Jake, We apparently can't get info on this guy. I suggest you two get some sleep." Lyn says, yawning and rubbing her tired eyes. This debriefing took us two hours, at least. It's now 2330 hours, and we've all had a long day.

Zak, Lyn, and I all get u[, and walk out of the room. Then we all split up. Lyn still has paperwork to do, Zak feels like having a couple more drinks, and I just want to hit the sack.

I get to my room, and open the door to a great surprise. Actually, a couple of surprises.

"Venom Strike! What are you doin' here!" I can't believe she's still here. She must've gotten back from her mission awhile ago.

"Hey hon. You said I could stay here awhile. Now you're kickin' me out?" Venom says with a hurt look on her face.

"I meant a couple of hours, until you left to go on a mission, or to go back to your dorm!" Now she really looks hurt. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired."

"Okay. OH! You have a message from Kisaragi." She says as I step into my dorm, peeling my shirt off as I go.

"Thanks."

I walk over to m terminal, deciding to read the message. Turning on the monitor, and typing in my password, I see the sender name and subject.

'Kisaragi VP'

' A gift fit for a Raven'

Looks interesting, I think I'll read it. So I open it, and get the surprise of a life time.

'Raven, you've shown extraordinary talent. You also saved our development lab by finding the hidden bomb that we didn't know about. For that, we at Kisaragi would like to give you a gift Fit for a Raven! We are giving you the AC that you piloted today, the WhipLash. We would have had to dump everything in the memory, and remove your registration of it had we not given it to you. This gift in no way obligates you to us. We here at Kisaragi hope that you will accept. If you do, then we will send you all the specs, later on of course.

                                                                                       Vice President of Kisaragi'

SHIT! I've never just been GIVEN an AC before. How can I refuse such an offer. I garb the holo keyboard, and start typing my response.

'Yes. I accept you're gift, and thank you.

                                                                                        Dark Vent'

With the excitement of the surprise over, I can feel sleep coming for me again, and twice as strong. I'd better go to bed.

'So, Dark Vent, what'd they say?" Venom asks me.

Crawling into bed, I say "They gave me an AC." Her jaw drops as low as naturally possible, and she just stands there, motionless and speechless. The perfect sight to fall asleep by. I'm out soon after that.

~

"She's a thing of beauty, isn't she, Marcos?"

"Dude, she's the best lookin' core I've ever seen. I mean, It actually looks Alive! It actually looks like it could breath at any moment. Oh, I called your friend Zak. He should be here any moment."

I hear footsteps a ways off. "So, Jake. What is it that you'd like to show us?"

I turn to see Lyn and Zak jogging across the garage towards me. They apparently haven't heard yet.

"Lyn, Zak, I'd like you to meet my new AC, WhipLash." I say. At this, both of them stop dead in their tracks, dropping their jaws in the process. It'll take about a minute or two before either can talk.

"When… How… Are those parts even on the market?" Zak asks in complete awe! I wish I had a camera, So I can always have a picture of what his face looks like right now.

"The Kisaragi VP contacted me last night. He was impressed by my sctions so much, that he gave me the AC WhipLash, obligation free. I highly doubt the obligation free part, but we'll see" The truth is, I really just want to find out what this thing's made of. I could care less about obligation. I head over to the lift, heading towards the cockpit of WhipLash.

~

Damn, man! This thing handles like a dream. I barely have to touch th.. OH! The VP finally sent me the statistics of this unit. I decide to stop and check it out.

"Hey, Lyn! I just got the stats on this beauty, and you should see some of this stuff!"

"Like what?" She sounds enthusiastically interested.

"Besides what I already know, there's lots of things. The blade, for one, has a third mode as a circular saw. And the rail-gun, It has a superheated short-range mode."

"Damn! Jake, you gotta let me try that core." I hear Zak say.

"Like Hell!! You're not getting' your paws on this thing!"

I continue to look at the specs displayed on the laptop. Let's see here, enhanced stability control… triple dense capacitor… a radar range of nine twenty-eight… hacking ability, Seven! Cool, the most any other head has is five! I finally reach the generator stats, and nearly fall out of my seat! A five part Generator!

"Hey Zak, Lyn, get this! This AC has a new prototype generator," I say, still unable to believe the spec report, "It says that the wings, rail-gun, and blade all have a sub generator. This says that each one doubles the total output generated!"

"But… That's Eight FUCKING TIMES the original Power!" Lyn screamed. I have to cover my ears because the speakers are so loud!" Oh, Jake, I just got a message for you from Ignition. He's challenging you to an arena match."

Ignition? I've been trying to get a match with him for months. Why would he want to challenge me?

"Let him know that I accept the challenge. I just need a day to repair Oblivian."

"He says that the match must be today, or it won't happen!"

"Today! That means I'll have to use WhipLash! I'll be there at five o'clock."

This means that I'll have to use WhipLash in the match. Could he have heard about it already?


	6. 5 Fire Dance

**Disclaimer: I claim no rights to any logo, insignia,**

 or corporate name in this story. They are

property of Sony, and AgeTech. 

            Okay, baby. Let's see what you got!

'Systems Online'

'Checking Pilot… Pilot Dark Vent Confirmed'

'Checking Weapons… No New Weapons'

'Switch to Combat Mode?'

"Yes!"

Ignition: "You lousy Bastard! I've been waiting months to get my hands on that Core! As Kisaragis star Raven, I should've been the one to receive WhipLash! Give it to me, or I'll take it from You!"

"How about this, Ignition. If you win, I'll give you WhipLash, but if I win, I get Burnout. Is it a deal?"

"Deal. But I should warn you… I NEVER LOSE!" I can hear the contempt already.

I hit the button for the Liaison Channel. "Lyn, did you get all that?"

"Yeah, I got it all. Kick his ass for us." I hear Lyn say over the comm..

Over the Arena announcement system, I hear static, then…

"This is a match between Dark Vent and Ignition. Standard Arena rules apply. Ready… Go!"

Ignition already has a lock on me, as I strafe left. Damn! He's too fast, I can't get a lock at this distane.

"Flight Mode!" I yell, hitting the overboost control. This'll close the distance quickly! I'm thrust into my seat as my AC leaves the ground and the overboost kicks in. Two seconds and I'm close enough to get a lock. I raise my rail-gun and fire! The recoil spins me in mid-air and nearly breaks my restraints in the process.

With a jolt and an ear shattering explosion, I crash into the ground and see the HUD display 'Warning, Left Wing Extreme Damage'. Shit! I switch the new blade to saw-mode and run after Ignition. He's already half-way across the arena, and taking aim with his rockets. The explosion took out my left overbooster, so I decided to boost there.

LEFT!

RIGHT!

His rockets are only good at mid range, and he's a bad fucking marksman. If I can hit his head, I'll be set. I swing my blade and… Fuck! I only got his shoulder, but I removed most of his rocket launcher, and his left extension!

He retaliates by blasting me in the chest with his flamethrower! Oh No! The computer's going into a system failure! I boost back just far enough, before the boosters give out. An alarm sound, then my AP starts to drop rapidly.

I see Ignitions left shoulder explode and the arm goes limp! I must've hit a hydraulic servo! I see the AP readout stop, and the system warning quits flashing. I switch my blade to flight mode, with a seven second delay.

"Ignition," I yell into the comm., "Burn This and KISS OFF!" I raise my right arm as my blade starts to attack Ignition, and fire the rail-gun again. The slug blows off his right leg, and the electric bolt fries his computer!

"AC Burnout is defeated! Raven Dark Vent is victorious." The announcer says over the announcement system.

"Recall blade."

I hold up my arm , watching the blade return to me. With the blade secure, I walk over to the smoking heap of Burnout.

"You never lose, huh?" I say over the comm. channel, raising the rail-gun to his core. With bitterness in my voice, I say, "Think Again!" and squeeze the trigger.


	7. 6 Friendly Bet

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

Through the door, I hear Zak call out.

"Hey man, can I come in?"

"Yeah, it's open."

"Whatcha readin'?" Zak asks, stepping into my dorm.

"I put a large hole in the Arena floor. Cortex is threatening to suspend my registration and rank if I don't pay for repairs." I say, looking at the report.

Looking over my shoulder, Zak asks "How much?"

'Seven-hundred-thousand creds. They're also restricting my usage of WhipLash to outside the Arena dome. On top of that, WhipLash will be outta commission for awhile, 'cause Kisaragi doesn't want to release the repair specs. So I can't get her repaired."

"That sucks man. Watcha gonna do?" I can see just the tiniest bit of satisfaction with this in his eyes.

"I think I'll get some of the weapons and stuff from WhipLash, and stick'em on Oblivion."

"Should be cool! Hey! How bout a VR match?"

"Sure, loser buys lunch."

Ten minutes later, we walk into the rec. room. "Hey Ted," I call, "have our regulars ready when we get out of VR."

"I take it loser buys?" he asks, even though he knows the answer. I'm in a descent mood, so…

"Yeah, give Zak the bill ahead of time." I say as we walk over to the VR suites. I climb into the first, Zak takes the second. Booting the computer, I see that Kisaragi has updated the public parts database.

"Hey Zak," I call into the comm.

"Who is this!?" a strange voice asks.

"Sorry!" I say, a little humiliated, "Wrong channel!" I switch to circuit two and try again.

"Yeah man. What ya want?"

"All of WhipLashs parts are in the public database, if you still wanna try it." He'll be happy 'bout that.

"Thanks for the heads up, man! I owe ya."

I decide to access my private file. That's the one that contains my current AC configurations, plus some favorite virtual ACs. I decide to create a new virtual core by taking the blade, wings, gun, and generator from WhipLash, and placing them on Oblivion. Whoa! He looks sweet!

With my configuration set, I engage the VR. The system has actually advanced in the past couple of years. For one, there's no longer a goggle or headset system. Instead it's holographic-solid projections.

The virtual announcer does the standard ramble, you know, "Welcome to this heated Arena matchup…" and stuff like that. Then over the announcement…

"Ready… Fight!"

"I see you Did choose WhipLash! Well Zak, Learn Fast!" I'm already in flight mode and takin off to the left. I can see Zak still sittin' there… he just found the overboost! I gotta work fast!

"Engage Stealth Mode! Switch blade to flight mode, and prepare to launch!" Luckily the Stealth emits sort of a cloaking field, making it Damn near impossible to see me.

I hear the High pitched buzzing whine as I throw my bla…

"Stealth disengaged." The computer says.

"SHIT!" I shout, raising my rail-gun before Zak can turn to fire.

"Gotch… FUCK!" he screams.

I fire a round at his right shoulder. It hits its mark, and his arm falls limp. The rail-gun falls from his hand as my blade finally comes in to attack, slicing into the already useless right arm. I hear a loud clank of metal-on-metal, seeing the arm now on the floor.

"Recall Blade!" I yell, boosting back as Zak lunges with his own blade. I hear a clank, and know my blade's back. I boost back once more and call "Saw Mode!"

I swipe up and to my right, cutting Zaks blade and lower arm in two, leaving him with practically no arms left. Swinging my arm back down, I take a chunk off of the dome shaped front of Zaks AC. The only thing he has left is the inside part, but he'll only get three shots off with that. After all, I shot through his right shoulder.

But I'm safe. Zak doesn't even know what they are anyway. So, I raise my rail-gun and fire into the hole I left in his chest-armor. I hear the boom of the gun, then the word "Win" appears on my HUD.

"AC Oblivion is the winner." I hear the announcer say.

"Hey Zak, care for a rematch?" I ask sarcastically.

"No, man, ya beat me with only a fraction of WhipLashs parts."

"Okay, then you're buyin'." I tell him, "Simulator off." The hologram fades and I step out of the VR suite, and I'm suddenly assaulted by laughter and cheers.

"Ted," I shout over the crowd," what the hell's goin on!"

Venom Strike steps through the crowd and seductively says "Ted piped your VR match to the MegaMonitor." Licking her lips, she continues, "S had my creds on you all along." Damn! Is she gonna flash her tits at me next!

"Sorry Ven. It's not happenin! Where's Ted at?"

"Right here m'boy. Hey, that was the best match I've seen this month! Lunch is on the house."

"Good, 'cause I'm a little tight this week." Zak says, as he finally makes his way through the crowd. "I was hopin for a free meal at Jakes expense."

"Well Zak, let's eat!" I say as Ted leads us to the table with our food.


	8. 7 Hunter

"Sorry dude, I can't do it."

"What The FUCK do you mean you can't do it! You're the Fucking Mechanic and they're My Parts! So WHAT IS THE FUCKING PROBLEM!"

"Dude! Stop yelling. I can't do it 'cause Kisaragi designed those parts only one way. The only WhipLash part that's compatible with any other part is the core." Why the hell would Kisaragi do that? I'm tired of yelling anyway.

"Okay Marcos. So, why are there compatibility problems?"

"'Cause dude, Kisaragi has come up with a Fucked-Up bolting arrangement. The core is the only part that uses the standard arrangement as well as the new one."

"Then the VR core should've emulated that as well. Well, thanks anyway." I turn to leave.

"Hey, tell Zak I said nice way to lose!" I wave my hand in acknowledgment. I still can't believe Kisaragi would make such a big design flaw. I mean, even with the bad blood between corporations and all, that move is just counter-intuitive. Oh well.

~

"Incoming message, channel two."

Damn, right in the middle of making dinner. "Yeah?"

"Jake," I hear Lyn say, "Kisaragi has posted a new mission, and they've asked for you in particular."

"Can it wait? I'm cookin' dinner right now." I sure hope it can wait. This stuff is terrible when cold.

"Sorry, the say it's urgent. What'cha cookin' anyway?"

"My hot-pepper tuna."

"Oooh, sorry! Hey, I'll buy ya dinner after your mission."

"K! I'll be at missions in five. Any partners allowed?"

"Yeah, I'll call Zak. Just head straight for your AC." I grab my shirt and head for the Garage.

~

Once in the Garage, I head for the lift to Oblivion's cockpit. My AC really is a thing of darkness. The brightest area is a collection of three optic sensors on the head, all of which are a bright glowing green. The rest of Oblivion easily fades into the darkest of shadows. I hit the power as I climb into the cockpit.

'Computer… Online'

'Primary Systems… Online'

'Secondary Systems… Online'

"Oblivion Online. Switch to combat mode?"

"No. Open Vid-Link with Lyn."

"Beep… Beep… Yeah Jake? I guess you want the overview, huh?"

"Yeah Lyn, I'm leavin' the Garage now. So just pipe it through the comm. line." I pull out of the dock and guide Oblivion through the Garage as the overview starts.

"Raven," the Kisaragi VP starts, in his usual voice, "This is an extremely urgent request! Today we started a joint project with Union, in hopes of creating a better life for all of Layered. But as we started construction, a mysterious group of MTs appeared and started to reek havoc. Since then, more have been showing up. For every one we destroy, three more take its place. To make matters worse, a Band of ACs has now shown up bearing the same insignia as the mysterious MTs. We are hiring three Ravens, and whomever they wish as consorts, to eliminate this threat. Union is doing the same. Please help us, for the good of Layered!"

"Where's it at, Lyn?" This could get me some major creds along the way.

"Sector 5-1-6 of the Nature Layer. Zak'll be right behind you. Lyn out."

"Auto-pilot engage. Destination, Nature Layer… Sector 5-1-6."

"Confirmed." the computer says. I wonder what they're building there?

I ponder this, and what the mysterious forces might be doing there as well, as my AC walks through Layered.

"Destination Nature Layer Achieved. Sector 5-1-6, five kilometers due North. Must be piloted to manually due to a large body of water."

About time. I take up the controls and hit the overboosters.

"hey Jake! Wait up!"

"Hey Zak, took you long enough to get here!" I say as I kill the overboosters. "Let's get a move-on."

"I had Lyn arrange a transport for the both of us." He says.

We head for the transport over the ocean region in front of us.

"Ravens! Good,you're here! We need your h… AAAAAGGGHHH!" To my left I see an AC sized MT blow up.

"Beep Beep Beep!" A call from Lyn?

"Dark Vent, you need to escort the executive transports to safety! Nightwatch'll cover you!"

"Got it!" I'm looking around for the execs. There They Are! Fifty meters east! I hit my boosters.

As I approach, the transports are hit from behind. I spin around and fire in the general direction. Damn Fucking SHIT! My second round went straight into the barrel of the ACs rifle! A shot like THAT is pure Fucking LUCK!

"You Bastard, That was my favorite Rifle! You'll pay for it with your ASS!" Suddenly, the guy is hit from the side, it's Zak! I charge the guy.

On the approach, I raise my flamethrower, ready to fire, when I'm stopped cold from a blast. It came from the guys spread howitzer, and I see my AP drop. I'm still within range, so I pull the trigger and start strafing. Shit! What just hit me? I took a thousand AP.

"Dark Vent, Behind you!' Zak yells.

I turn around, firing my flamethrower all the way.

"Aaaagh!" Damn! That MT didn't even show up on radar. Back to the AC at hand.

I turn, and the guy's now a bit to my left. I walk up to him, and, using my gun, tap him on the shoulder. He turns his head to see what it is, and a hole appears in his optic sensor. The AC goes limp. Almost. He boosts back and fires off three shots from his howitzer. Two hitting me, and the third grazing Zaks AC. ZAK goes in for the kill, and plunges his blade straight into the center of the core. We're both blown back as the entire core explodes.

"Nightwatch, the transports! Let's move!" We both hit our overboosters to catch up.

We're halfway there when Zak says :three MTs, dead ahead! Orbit th fucks!"

"Can't lock on! Have to do hand to hand." These MTs are larger, and they move differently. Almost mechanically, like an AC on auto-pilot.

As we near, a high-pitched squealing, pulsng sound comes over the comm. "Dam…an I…'t…at soun…"

"Nightwatch! Nightwatch, you're breaking up!" He points to the side of his head. He obviously can't hear me either, so I point to the MTs. We go in for the attack.

After several minutes, we defeat them, though one took off a good chunk of my right shoulder, as well as my right extension.

"Guys, the Transports are almost to safety. Just keep with them a little longer!"

"Roger!" Zak and I glance at each other, then we take off.

They're a bit farther than I expected. They must've picked up speed after that last encounter, seeing as they're now at the edge of the Nature Layer. I can already see the heavy steel doors opening for them. Zak and I catch up in time to fend off three more of the strange MTs.

"Thank You Ravens! You will be compensated quite well." Must be an exec from Union. We watch as the doors close behind them.

"Shit! Behind us! Zak shouts. We both turn and fire.

"Aaagggh…" The last dying sound of the pilot comes over the comm.

KaBOOOOOM!

"What the? Where the fuck did that come from?" I ask.

Lyn comes on the comm, "Other side of the door. About fifteen meters guys."

We both turn and head for the door. What the Hell! It won't open. "Hack it!" I say over the comm. This means trouble, and Zak knows it too. So we take up positions on either side of the door.

"Door hacked." My computer says. I cross my ACs arms, signaling our signature move. No other AC team has pulled it off, 'cause usually one can't get low enough. He usually gets his head blown off by his partner in the process.

The door opens. I sink to one knee and boost in Zaks direction, and he boosts in mine. The moment we see inside the door, we fire our guns, and don't stop till we're on the other side. I wind up going in front, and under.

On the other side, I kick up and land on my feet.

Over the comm, a voice shouts "MOVE!" That's our cue to attack. We both turn into the door and charge. On the other side of a smoldering heap of metal, two light blue lightwieght ACs are boosting away from us.

Zak and I both fire our rifles at them. They're high power rifles, so the AC we hit in the leg folded like a tin can. The other had better boosters and more skill at evading, so he got away. For now.

"Who Do you Work For?" I ask the disabled pilot, as I walk up to him and aim my rifle at his generator. Zak aims there as well.

"These rifles can pierce your armor like butter. So tell us!" Zak sounds pissed.

"I'll never tell! The rightful ruler of Layered shall reclaim his throne soon anyway! Ha-Ha, Ha, Ha-Ha-Hahahahaaaa! You ca… Aaagh…" I couldn't stand his rambling anymore. Zak and I take off in separate directions in time to avoid the brunt of the explosion.

"We gotta go Nightwatch." I say, hitting my overboosters. He comes through the wreckage flames while my boosters whine to life.

The tunnel we're in suddenly whizzes y. I look left and see Zak keeping pace. My overboosters use more power than his, and, of course, my energy just ran out. I come to a halt as Zak blows by me, so I start running.

"Yo, Dark Vent! My computer alone won't cut it. Cme back my hack." Fool. Stopping at the door, I pull out my holokeyboard.

Ten seconds of hacking, and we're in. "Got it!" I call over the comm. Zak and I both step back, guns raised, as the door slowly opens.

"Dark Vent, you ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go…" I mentally count to three, "NOW!" and we fly through the doors, guns blazing.

Our first spread of shots just hit the buildings on either side of the street. Then my FCS locks onto the enemy as he runs out from behind a building.

"Let's pinch!" I say to Zak.

"Got it." I take the next street to my right in order to cut this guy off. To my surprise, I see the guy at the end of the street, just standin' there. I suddenly understand why as I'm hit from behind by something. I turn around to see a giant, twenty foot high bug shooting energy beams at me. Then I notice the rest of them, all around me.

"Yo Dark Vent, I need backup!" Zak calls over the comm.

"Li'l busy right now!" I say, firing my rifle at the damn thing. But my shots just bounce off hitting the building next to it. "What are these thi… Aagh! Fuck!"

The enemy AC had come up behind me and sliced off my left antimissile extension. I turn and fire at him, only to get hit some more by the bugs. I now notice a purple haze in the air. I hadn't noticed, but it had been wafting in for the past few minutes.

The other guy noticed the haze too. He's now looking at the bugs on either side of me. Seeing this, I point at the nearest one and fire. The bug literally blows up with that shot. Before I know it though, the AC and all the bugs start firing at me. All the shots cause my computer to freeze, turning me into a sitting duck.

I watch helplessly as my AP starts dropping like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, unexpectedly, the hits stop. I can still hear shots everywhere, but I can't see them through the haze, and I can't feel them hitting my AC. My AP slows to rest at 1800, and my computer recovers. I step forward, only to be knocked back by a massive explosion, only a few feet in front of my core.

"Are you okay?" It's the AC pilot that's been helping me lately. "I said, Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I need to see if my consort is okay!" I say.

"Zak's okay. The gas will clear out in a minute or so."

As the gas clears, I can start to see Zak making his way towards me. "Nightwatch. Over here." I say, firing my rifle at the layer ceiling.

"What happened?" Zak asks. "One minute I'm fighting a whole fucking army of bugs that're shootin' back, then a purple fog appears and I can't see a damn fucking thing. Next thing I know, all the bugs stop attacking me."

"Dark Vent," It's Lyn, "What's going on? Sensors show that there is an unidentified AC just a few feet from you."

"Ah, Lyn." The unidentified pilot says. "I can still remember when you and Jake used to play together as kids. You sound so grown up! You were always a cute kid, and I bet you've turned into a gorgeous woman."

"OKAY," Lyn yells, now absolutely pissed, "WHO THE FUCK IS THIS!"

"I'm the Dark Hunter." He calmly tells Lyn. Then looking at me, adds "I'm your father Jake."

I don't believe him. It can't be true! He Can't be my father! "You LIE!" I shout at him, raising my rifle to his core. "Tell me who the FUCK you Really ARE!"

With a speed I've never seen, he rips the rifle out of my hands and points his own at my core. "I won't shoot you Jake. I just want to talk to you." He says, lowering his rifle, and handing back mine.

"Jake, it's happening again." He tells me. "Events are repe…" a small hole appears in his ACs chest.

"DAD!" I yell out, reaching to grab his AC as it falls forward.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" I hear over the comm. I look up to see a red heavyweight AC at the far end of a very long street. My rifle can't hit him from here. He turne and walks off.

"Give me your blade, Zak."

Why do you wa"

"GIVE IT TO ME!" I scream. Zak takes his blade off and gives it to me. I then stick it on my left arm, at the same time dropping my flamethrower.

"New weapon detected." My computer says. "part M-L-W-dash-heat-nine-A." It then prints the stats at the side of my HUD.

Next, I grab the rifle out of the hand of my fathers fallen AC.

"New weapon detected." The computer says again. "Location conflict encountered. Please remove part."

"Conflict override Omicron-nine-three-six-dash-Alpha-nine. Resolution, ignore conflict." I say, turning towards the place where the red AC was. Hitting my boosters, I take off after him.

Faster and faster I go, heading towards the guy. I reach the end of the street, turning as I stop. He hasn't gotten but a hundred-fifty yards from where I am now.

Over the comm, I yell "Hey you Bastard! Come Back Here!" He stops just long enough to turn slightly and look at me. Then he just continues walking away.

"Go home BOY! The Controllers last enemy has been destroyed. Layered will soon return to it's rightful ruler." The guy says as he walks.

"You BASTARD! THAT WAS MY FATHER!" I SCREAM, FIRING MY RIFLE AT HIS RIGHT SHOULDER. At this, he stops walking.

"You just don't learn, do you BOY!" He turns on his extensions, turning him 180° . He fires a shot that hits my rifle, blowing it to pieces. Now I'm pissed. I toss my fathers rifle to my right hand.

"YYAAAAAAAAAGH!" I scream, boosting towards him and firing round after round at his core. I'm now enraged to the limits of sanity. Try as this guy might, he can no longer hit me.

I'm now right on top of him. I bring my blade up as a glow emits from it, and I slice his gun in two. I bring it down, taking his right turn booster off.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR MY FATHERS DEATH!" I scream at him.

"Ha-ha-h" I fire my father's rifle at the one point in his chest armor that's the thinnest. I continue to fire the rifle until it's empty, even though he's dead already. With the rifle empty, I switch to the blade again. I hack at everything on his core. I must leave no trace of this guy! I continue to hack and slice until all that's left is a smoking pile of scrap metal.

"I have avenged you, father." I say to myself. Then everything goes black.


End file.
